Sadie

More like a 3.5. Super fast read and I really enjoyed the writing style and the inclusion of a podcast style story telling. Unfortunately this has an open ending and I feel very unfulfilled.

4.5/5

I'm going to have to think on this one for a while. I'm just kind of completely blown away right now by how well-written and captivating this book was. An easy 5/5.

Very interesting way to write a book. The ending was irritating for me but the story itself was well written and entertaining.

This book is so sad and dark. I picked this up thinking that this is another mystery thriller book but its actually more focused on the main character's love for her sister. This didn't quite work for me because I've expected different things from it. However, I still think that this is a good book. The writing style is beautifully written and the idea of telling the story from the perspective of the main character and a podcast is very unique. The audiobook is also phenomenal and its highly recommended. My only issue from this book is the ambiguous ending, but its just a personal preference. Overall, I still enjoyed it but I'm not blown away by the story.

Amei! Com uma construção que eu não esperava - peguei sem saber nada da história - o livro me surpreendeu muito ao trazer esse thriller que é a vida (normalmente sem a saga de Sadie) de muitas pessoas - muitas crianças - que precisam de ajuda e é difícil de enxergar no dia a dia. Muito importante e, além de tudo, de fácil leitura e compreensão.

I was looking for something different and when I saw the cover I knew it will be something new. I dived in blind in this one, it's been on GR for a long time now and it has lots of positive reviews, I was determined to look for the answer myself and not read anything about this book.

I love the story, I always say that I stay away from this kind of genre but I was kidding myself if I thought I will not finish this book. It's raw and it's gripping. I hope to hell nothing Sadie or Mattie has experienced would happen to my kids, or to anyone's kid.

It's not that I regret ever reading this book but the violence and the way it was depicted was heartwrenching that I want to erase it from my memory.

I'm rating this 4 stars because after all the hurt I endured as I finish the book, what happened exactly to Sadie was not revealed. I mean, come on, Courtney, who does that?

First read 7/7/19: I've honestly put off reading this book because of how hyped it was but I'm happy to say it definitely lived up to the hype. This combo'd my love of true crime podcasts, gritty contemporaries, and mystery/thrillers into one beautiful little package. The writing was gorgeous and I loved the podcast transcript format part of the story was told in. I'm already planning a reread, or rather a listen, because I want to listen to it as an audiobook.

Second read 8/31/19: this audiobook is SOOO good. wow.

“I can't take another dead girl.”

I truly can't. In addition, I can't put my feelings about this book into words, but I'll do my best. I read it in one day. I wish there was more. And less. My heart is broken, not just for Sadie and Mattie, but for every child in this sick world. I've been crying for 10 minutes and I can't stop now. Sadie is a masterpiece. It tells the truth about being a child and a teenager and about life in general. It doesn't sugar coat and it doesn't hide. It destroys you and it breaks your heart and I just want to scream at everyone, but you need to read it if you can.

Aside from my heart being ripped out because of the story, let's talk about formatting. Courtney Summers is a genius. This book is half novel, half podcast and I couldn't be happier with it. There is literally a podcast that you can find on your favorite podcast app and listen to. The chapters are alternating between Sadie's first person account and a podcast called The Girls that is, Serial style and Someone Knows Something style, trying to crack the mystery of Sadie's disappearance. If you don't want to listen to the podcast, it is transcribed in the book. I listened and read along because I'm obsessive. And it was perfect.

Would I recommend it?

Yes. I would recommend Sadie to anyone who can handle the following TW: pedophilia, child sexual abuse, mentions of drug use. This is an uncomfortable book. It hurts. But it's worth the read.

4.75 - this was?? really good?? similar vibes to spin but way less hand-hold-y and a lot less focus on the violence

(show me where sadie is an unlikeable character. show me where she's anything but a grieving teen whose grief takes an incredibly reasonable shape and motivation.)

gasp

An unforgiving story that is way too real for any comfort. The audio production was sheer brilliance, and Sadie might be the most damaged and beautiful badass soul I've ever had the privilege of reading about. An absolutely chilling and important story, perfect for fans of true crime, vigilante justice, and good writing.

So... My reading experience with this book was not great. Too bad. I was so hyped for it, but oh well...

I literally could not put this book down <3

At the time I'm writing this review, it's been a couple of days since I finished Sadie, and I still haven't fully processed it. This is one of those stories that seeps into your bones somewhere along the way, and it changes the way you look at the world a little. It is the best mystery—and one of the best books, period—that I have ever read, and it is also one of the bleakest, most devastating reading experiences of my life. If you have read any of my reviews then you know I am very picky with what I choose to pick up. I actually saw this on a BookTube channel and Chelsea did such a good job convincing me that this story is worth the time that I had to pick it up.

You know, going into this story, that Sadie's little sister's body has just been found, and Sadie is on a mission to track down the man she believes is responsible. Besides the fact that it's a story partially told through podcast episodes (which is such an incredible touch), that's all you really need to know. This isn't about what happens so much as it is about coming to know and love Sadie—and to know and love Mattie, too, through her memories. It's about recognizing that the society we live in has this terrifying, grimy layer that nobody wants to talk about, where little girls are never really safe, and children are forced to grow up way too fast, to become adults in replacement of the parents they didn't ask for. Most of all it touched me to the core because it is so believable that it could easily happen to so many of todays young children.

With a mother suffering from addiction, a community that looked the other way far too many times, and a life of barely keeping food on the table, much less having any real opportunities to succeed, Sadie feels like such an old soul. I don't know how many readers will struggle to relate to the age of her inner monologue, but from another woman whose circumstances never quite allowed me to feel like a child, I saw so much of myself in the cynical, pragmatic way Sadie views the world around her. I am not niave to the world around me I know that my mother did an awesome job with me and my sister but I was never really accepted by others easily.

It's hard enough to grow up poor and in a broken family, but Sadie's also queer—she doesn't label herself, but explains her sexuality in ways that heavily point to pansexuality—and she stutters, which forms a barricade between her and the rest of the world. Her representation feels so valid and genuine, and it broke my heart every time she mused about how imprisoned she felt by her struggles with speech.

More than anything else about Sadie's character, though, I loved the fierce, maternal determination she has for taking care of Mattie—and, once Mattie is gone, for finding her killer and dishing out justice. Every memory of Mattie, whether told through her view of their adopted grandmother May Beth's, is beautiful and haunting. The tremendous amount of guilt that Sadie carries as she blames herself for what went wrong had me completely breaking down in passages, and I'll admit without shame that I read the last several chapters through tears. The most brutal part of it all is that, somehow, it feels like Sadie's story could be based on a real girl—no, on countless real girls, all over the world.

Without spoiling the plot, I want to warn you that this book focuses heavily on child abuse and sexual assault, and it is broken down in the most honest, agonizing ways. There's also a solid portrayal of how deceptive abusers can be, as the abusers in question are shown to have fooled so many people. But there's also another side to the representation here, as we see Sadie's intense solidarity with other abused girls, and her desperate need to protect and defend them, even though (perhaps especially though) she feels that she failed to protect and defend her sister.

There's not much else I can tell you now, because I think it's the kind of story that you should go into without too many expectations. Just climb in, let Sadie take you for a ride and tell you her story, and try not to let your heart get too broken in the process. This is a phenomenal story, and I know that I will be thinking about it for a long, long time to come.

I don't even know how to describe this book. Heartwrenching, sad, powerful, gripping. Just read it. And don't bother with anything other than the Audiobook.

Holy hell, I am NOT okay. I'm going to need some time to process this one.

will someone be an angel and buy this book for me - broke but i need this baby IN MY HANDS

This book hurt to read. It was painfully real, and the characters felt like people I could lift off the page into reality. Some of the development that is revealed along the course of the book really added to the dimensions of the plot and the characters simultaneously.

This was an incredibly crafted story; it didn't miss a beat. It is just shy of a five star book for me, and I strongly recommend it. Depending on how much the story stays with me I may even bump it up.

I'm curious to see how the format plays out in text, but as an audiobook, the framing podcast narrative was awesome! The only downside was that tertiary characters were absolutely awful. It was like they blew their production budget on the style and leads and then let anyone off the street come in to record the rest. It was bad enough to take you out of the narrative, but the storyline was so strong and the overall conceit so well done that it's a solid 4. I'm recommending Sadie to students who loved Allegedly and other twisty mysteries with traumatic components.

[6th re-read] so here i am having just read this book for the 6th time making it my most read book ive ever read. This story is important yet so disturbing. It's hard to read this book again and again but Sadie is the character that is on my mind a lot. She is the character that feels so real to me and my heart aches for her but she doesn't exist.. but she does in the women around us and thats the sad part. Definite TW if you ever want to read this but this book changed my life and i think i'll forever love sadie.

—-
edit: 7/5/21: 5th time reading it and wow. The end made me cry when it didn't cry the 4 previous times. I just love Sadie as a character and I love her and miss her but she's not real
:((((

Edit: 12/10/20: read it again lol

Edit: 21/06/20: Third time reading it and it gets better every time. Out of every book ive ever read, this book has hit me the hardest and makes me feel the most. Sadie is my favourite character of all time and I think about her 24/7

April 2020:
One of the best books to exist and it was better the second time around. I'm so in love with this book

Review to come

No one talk to me for a week. I'm sad and confused

No one talk to me for a week. I'm sad and confused

courtney summers könyveit olvasni olyan, mint sajtreszelővel rejszolni. és csak azért próbálok vicces lenni, mert az all the rage után megint sikerült jól kiborítania és fáj és nem bírom.

4.5 stars This book reminded me of the podcast ‘Serial' I used to be obsessed with! One of the best books I've read this year!